STRASBOURG, France — Helmut Kohl got his way in death, as he usually did in life.

The former chancellor — a driving force behind German and European unity — had wanted leaders from the EU and beyond to pay him a final tribute in Strasbourg, arguably the most European of cities. And so they came to the plenary hall of the European Parliament and assembled around his coffin, draped in the blue and gold EU flag, in one more show of European togetherness.

Eight German soldiers carried the casket into the center of the chamber, where MEPs from 28 countries will discuss more mundane matters in their next session on Monday. But, as European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker reminded the audience, without Kohl, many of them would not have been able to discuss tax transparency or the EU’s relationship with Cuba.

At a European Council meeting in 1997, after leaders had voted to admit ex-communist Eastern European countries into the EU, “Kohl asked to take the floor, when he normally would just take it,” recalled Juncker, the former Luxembourg prime minister who has been around so long that he is the only current EU leader to have sat around an EU summit table with Kohl. “And he said that that day counted among the most beautiful moments in his political life” because he could “as German chancellor, witness Europe coming together.”

Turnout of leaders from Eastern Europe was noticeably high. Among those attending were Polish President Andrzej Duda, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Their presence sent a message about both the past and the future: Honoring Kohl was a way to show that their part of Europe should be as important in the years to come as it was to him.

That, of course, was a signal to the EU’s new dream couple, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, that Eastern Europe should not be forgotten amid their talk of a new drive for European integration, possibly of the “multi-speed” variety, with Berlin and Paris and their friends forging ahead while others stand on the sidelines.

European Council President Donald Tusk seized the opportunity to send a message back to Poland and Hungary, who are often accused by Brussels these days of backsliding on commitments to European values. He called on leaders in EU capitals to “examine their consciences” and mentioned both Warsaw and Budapest as well as Paris and Berlin.

“The question about the future of a united Europe must be given a resounding answer: yes. Yes to the Union, yes to freedom, yes to human rights,” Tusk said.

Merkel and Macron made sure they were seen as a team as close as Kohl and François Mitterand, who famously held hands at the battlefields of Verdun in 1984. Macron kissed Merkel, they sat next to each other, he grabbed her arm after her speech.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron at the ceremony | Patrick Hertzog/AFP via Getty Images

Macron said that he wanted to give the Franco-German relationship that was dear to Kohl “together with Angela Merkel a new meaning, a reality, a density”. He said (in German) that “there is no reason for resignation, but for realistic optimism.”

Addressing Kohl’s coffin, Merkel said his “biggest historical achievement” was to have placed a reunified Germany at the center of Europe.

“At the end of your term, Germany was united and for the first time in history living in peace and freedom with all its neighbors,” Merkel said.

Parliamentary premiere

It was the first time the EU had held such a ceremony, akin to a state funeral. It all went smoothly — and that was more than many people had expected.

Parliament officials, in particular, were nervous. Would anyone be left at the airport? (No, apparently.) Would the seats in the plenary chamber suffice? (Yes.) Would the ad-hoc protocol provide a dignified way to honor the EU’s “honorary citizen” without making all too clear that his family was deeply split, with Kohl’s two sons not attending? (Just about.)

In normal times, the Parliament has to deal with one VIP guest in the plenary chamber every couple of months. On Saturday, there was a room full of them — including a former U.S. president, a German chancellor and French president, and a dozen other current or former heads or government. There were so many, in fact, that British Prime Minister Theresa May had to settle for a seat in the third row — on a day that, if things had gone differently, would have marked the start of a British presidency of the Council of the EU.

Both Merkel and Macron delivered carefully crafted speeches, citing the need to honor Kohl’s legacy by building upon it.

They left the entertainment to former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who said: “Helmut Kohl loved being German. He tried to get me to eat some things I didn’t want to eat — because he loved being German.”

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks at the memorial ceremony | Sean Gallup/Getty Images

It fell to Merkel to broach the sensitive topic of Kohl’s family, which has been divided over the funeral arrangements and much else. At the ceremony, Merkel walked over to Kohl’s widow, Maike Kohl-Richter. The chancellor, who owed much of her early political career to Kohl before she broke with him over a party funding scandal, had to wait a moment before Kohl-Richter had time to take her hand.

“He was together for a long time with his first wife Hannelore, who stood by him in good times and bad times. We also pay tribute to her,” Merkel said in her speech. Her condolences then went to Kohl-Richter “and to all in Helmut Kohl’s family who mourn him today,” Merkel said, thereby recognizing that the family is bigger than Kohl’s widow.

The emotion was provided above all by Juncker. “Helmut Kohl was a true European and a friend. Europe owes him a lot,” declared Juncker, who used to be called “junior” by Kohl, and said he spoke more as a friend than in his capacity as Commisson president.

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This not EUROPE who’s gathering. It’s the usual suspects.

Once again just a carefully created politics of symbolism. A Brussels favourites. Not felt or owen seen by the europeans. They have their unemployed yongsters and pressured economy to deal with. The real matter created by the euro, created by…..

Posted on 7/2/17 | 6:27 AM CEST

David

So, is this funeral of Europe?

Posted on 7/2/17 | 7:52 AM CEST

Jeremy

Last photo: “European Military Personnel” there is no EU Military, so who are these European Military Personnel? I see Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Federal Republic of Germany, Carrying their former head of Government. Words mean things, or is that a Freudian Slip of the Author/EU in their goal of a United States of Europe?

The European Union must fall!

Posted on 7/2/17 | 9:45 AM CEST

Alistair Walker

Thanks, we’ve amended the picture caption.

Posted on 7/2/17 | 4:11 PM CEST

Plumber joe

For all intents and purposes this guy was a dirty politician, highlighted by Bill Clinton being in attendance. LOL

This was what a Garbage Pail Kids award show would look like. LOL

Posted on 7/2/17 | 9:56 AM CEST

Mephistopheles

What a relatively unimportant waste of space Kohl was. Reunification only came about thanks to Gorbachev, Clinton, Thatcher and Mitterand. This maudlin send-off that (according to Politico) “Europe” is giving him only goes to disguise the dire state of the EU.

Posted on 7/2/17 | 10:58 AM CEST

Elena adaal

Very soon after the fall of the Wall, reunification was in the cards. Foreign leaders were only important in the sense that they did not put up roadblocks. The main thrust (and work) came from Germany (cq. kohl).

This started the wave of Eastern European countries that became member of the EU roughly 10 years later, which has led to a large rise in living standards in those countries; one of the most astounding achievements of the EU, for a big part thanks to Kohl.

RIP

Posted on 7/2/17 | 11:24 AM CEST

Emanuele

Just like Juius Caesar’s funeral, with Brutus, Cassius and so on.

A pity ther was no Marc Antony to perform the oration.

Posted on 7/2/17 | 12:20 PM CEST

Ronald Grünebaum

So many vile comments, from people who without Kohl would be cannon fodder to die in the trenches of European wars. Miserable characters with a keyboard.

Posted on 7/2/17 | 3:17 PM CEST

Alex

@Ronald Grünebaum

Judging by the constantly negative and anti-UK comments issuing from your keyboard, maybe you should be taking a good look in the mirror. Or even better, buy a new keyboard.

Posted on 7/2/17 | 5:40 PM CEST

Vishnou

@..: Not guts to put a name on your comment? What the hell are you afraid of? That Trump would tweet back? 🙂

Posted on 7/2/17 | 5:44 PM CEST

Vishnou

Sorry re previous post: “No” guts… 🙂

Posted on 7/2/17 | 5:45 PM CEST

Vishnou

@Jeremy: “The EU must fall” because it has no “army” to destroy those who disagree with its basic principles? Fantastic! Well, the EU won’t listen to you. You belong to the Middle Ages. By the way, the EU has a civil crisis management force made of soldiers from its Member States: they don’t promote war but train locals in reacting to attacks. Before vomiting such absurdities, you’d better double-check information.

Posted on 7/2/17 | 5:52 PM CEST

Vishnou

@Alex: Ronald is absolutely right: most comments are absolutely disgusting. What is your problem, what are your furstrations? Off you go. Leave the EU in peace: it will do much better without your narrow-mindedness and partial, undue and stupid comments. If you really believe you are better off on your own, you are making an enormous mistake because you are all far too stupid and manipulated to understand global issues. So try and only comment on minor events you pretend to know about.

Posted on 7/2/17 | 6:02 PM CEST

European

Helmut Khol was never a good family man, but he picked up on his predecessors´efforts to bring German unity to conclusion, while maintaining good relations with France — the famous European axis for peace.
Personally, I disliked this man. I much more trusted his predecessor Helmut Schmidt for his world views and fine intellect.

Posted on 7/2/17 | 7:04 PM CEST

Jonty

The ex Emperor of Europe laying in State.
Hail the new Empress Angela Sauerkraut !!

Posted on 7/2/17 | 7:28 PM CEST

european

Helmut Khol was a misearable family man, but he did pick up on his predecessors to bring German Unity to closure, his greatest achievement. I never liked his as a politician or as a man. In 1983, the year I came to Germany, I was devastated to see him win the federal elections over the much more worldly, and much more intellectual, Helmut Schmidt, whose death I mourned much more emotionally.

Observer

POOLISSH GUUY

Oh dear..
EU Funeral indeed :-))
Donald Trump will deliver final nail to the coffin EU dead corps on 6 of July in Major political speech in Warsaw :-))
Long LIVE New an Free CEE Europe !

Posted on 7/2/17 | 9:00 PM CEST

new guy

clearly kohl did some good things but there is no doubt he was corrupt .. he died w/o saying where the money came from

Posted on 7/3/17 | 12:21 AM CEST

FierEuropeen

I was very sad by Helmut Khol, a Man that I always uttered a great admiration, a true European patriot and we all own him the European Unity, but at the same time ecstatic and so moved to see this ceremony, I have saw it entirely, because it was the first time that an EU citizen funeral had honors at the EU level. Just like we were living in an USE 🙂 It is now up to us Europeans to continue Helmut Khol legacy.
On a side note. We can see by the shameful rude and disrespectful english posts, how the UK is moving very fast towards a little england inhabited by salvage monkeys.

Posted on 7/3/17 | 11:40 AM CEST

Heiner

@FierEuropeen “On a side note. We can see by the shameful rude and disrespectful english posts, how the UK is moving very fast towards a little england inhabited by salvage monkeys.”

Vot pleeze iz “salvage” monkeys? Do zey live from salvaging things? New profession for multitude of french unemployed, maybe? Perhaps in time your monkeys will help to salvage the wreckage of the EU with its constantly decreasing share of world trade and global relevance, who knows.